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Stetson Law graduates record number of students May 12 in Gulfport

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – A record number of 252 Stetson University College of Law graduates walked in commencement ceremonies on May 12.

Twenty-two students graduated with a JD degree from the part-time class, nine students with master of laws degrees and 26 students with both an MBA and a JD degree.

William LaForge, who was a senior congressional policy advisor in Washington D.C. for 14 years, delivered the commencement address. LaForge is National President of the Federal Bar Association and chairman of its board of directors. He was chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. LaForge received his LL.M. from Georgetown University in international and comparative law and has taught both in the U.S. and in Southern Europe.

Among this year’s outstanding law graduates are:

  • Matt Bachman, recognized by Gulfport City Council for helping to draft the City of Gulfport’s policies and procedures for implementing a new Human Rights Ordinance.
  • Vanessa DeRosa, former HBA president who recently organized a panel at the law school to address immigration reform.
  • Genevieve Whitaker, who became Florida Legislative Coordinator of Amnesty International in July of last year, and introduced the first Stetson chapter on campus.

Stetson Law moves graduation location due to smoke and visibility

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law is moving graduation ceremonies from the Gulfport campus to the Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St. S., St. Petersburg due to smoke and outdoor visibility. The commencement ceremony will begin Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m.

  • Directions to Pasadena Community Church: From Stetson Law in Gulfport,

    Head south on 61st St. S. towards 15th Ave. S. Turn right on 15th Ave. S. Turn right on Gulfport Blvd. S. (22nd Ave. S.). Turn right onto Pasadena Ave. S. (first major intersection). Turn left onto Central Ave. Turn left onto 70th St. S.

Link here for a detailed map to the alternate location here: http://www.law.stetson.edu/AltGradSite.asp

  • The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. to allow time for graduates and visitors to report to the new location. Students should report to Hamilton Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. and faculty should report to the Gathering Room.
  • The graduation reception will take place at the church.
  • The law library in Gulfport will be open for visitors on campus from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
  • The Internet Webcast of the ceremony has been canceled.

Stetson University College of Law seminars continue to educate seniors about consumer fraud

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law continues to offer free consumer fraud seminars for local seniors in the Eleazer Courtroom at the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.

The next seminar is:

“Avoiding Investment Scams and Fraud,” Thursday, June 7, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Parking is available at the college at the corner of 61st St. S. and 15th Ave. S. and a shuttle service is available from the parking lot. Seminar attendees may also be dropped at the entrance to the school before parking their vehicles.

To learn more about upcoming seminars for seniors at Stetson, please call the Elder Consumer Protection Project at 727-562-7800 Ext. 7715.

If your attendance requires any aids or services as addressed in the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call two weeks prior to the event.

Stetson is a national leader in the field of elder law and has partnered with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, AARP and the legal community to increase public awareness of consumer fraud against senior citizens.

The Eleazer Courtroom, dedicated in September 2005, is the nation’s first “elder-friendly” courtroom.

Stetson Law re-dedicates Florin Roebig Courtroom

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law re-dedicated the Florin-Roebig Courtroom on the Gulfport campus at 1401 61st St. S. at 1 p.m. on April 19. One of Stetson’s premier teaching courtrooms, the Florin Roebig was renamed in honor of the Palm Harbor trial and litigation firm that made extensive contributions to the recently renovated space.

“Wil Florin and Tommy Roebig have given a wonderful gift to Stetson College of Law that will be used to help educate law students with the latest courtroom technology well into the next decade,” said Vice President and Dean Darby Dickerson.

At the re-dedication, law partners Wil Florin and Tommy Roebig honored Professor Robert Bickel, whose profound impact on their lives and careers inspired them to make the gift to the college.

“Professor Bob Bickel is a mentor, friend and colleague. It is inspiring to hear him talk about the rights of the disadvantaged. When you hear him talk about civil rights, you hear his passion and commitment,” Florin said.

The Florin Roebig firm funded an extensive facelift and technology upgrade for the courtroom in the summer of 2006, remodeling and adding flat-panel display screens in the gallery. Architect Canerday and Associates, builder Angle and Schmid and designer Beverlee Weismann used feedback from Stetson student and faculty focus groups to redesign the space.

In addition to the courtroom gift, the Florin Roebig law firm will continue to help underwrite a summer civil rights course taught by Professor Bickel that features a bus tour of major civil rights movement landmarks in the south.

“Students need to meet history if they are to understand civil rights,” Professor Bickel said.

Stetson hosts national championship for hundreds of top student advocates

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law hosted the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament this year. It was the first time the national competition was held at a law school outside the state of Iowa.

Top student advocates from undergraduate schools across the country competed on Stetson’s Gulfport, Fla. campus and at the Criminal Justice Center in Clearwater on April 13, 14 and 15. This year’s champions were from the University of Virginia.

“Stetson has a reputation for professionalism and advocacy and is the perfect choice to host this year’s national championship,” said Center for Excellence in Advocacy Director and Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Professor Roberta Flowers. “We are honored to be the first law school outside the state of Iowa to host the national championship.”

Stetson was ranked first in trial advocacy again this year by the U.S. News & World Report released in March.

Last year’s national championship winner was also the University of Virginia.

Stetson announces nation’s first online LL.M. degree in elder law beginning fall 2007

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law begins offering the nation’s first online LL.M. degree in elder law in fall 2007.

The three-semester, 24-credit program allows students to study online at times that are convenient for their schedules. Because this LL.M. program is online, students from around the world may participate.

The LL.M. program is directed by Professor Rebecca Morgan, who leads Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law and holds the Boston Asset Management Faculty Chair in Elder Law, the first elder law chair in the country.

Applicants for admission to the LL.M. program must have received their first law degree from a U.S. law school or at a law school approved by the appropriate authority in a country other than the United States. Foreign applicants must have received a law degree from a law school approved by the appropriate authority in their respective countries.

To learn more about the LL.M. in Elder Law program at Stetson, please visit
http://www.law.stetson.edu/Excellence/elderlaw/LLM/ or contact the Office for International and Cooperative Programs at 727-562-7849 or [email protected].

Stetson Law again ranks first in trial advocacy, joins top 100 law schools nationwide

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communication Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – The 2008 U.S. News & World Report has ranked Stetson University College of Law among the nation’s top 100 law schools. The national publication again ranked Stetson University College of Law first for trial advocacy. Stetson ranked number five for legal writing.

Since these rankings began in 1995, Stetson has consistently placed among the top law schools for trial advocacy. Stetson was also ranked fifth in the nation for legal writing this year, which is its third time in the top five since this specialty ranking was introduced three years ago.

“We are delighted that our ranking is starting to reflect that Stetson provides an outstanding legal education for its students,” said Vice President and Dean Darby Dickerson, who also served as Director of Legal Research and Writing at Stetson from 1996 until 2004. “We are proud to be included among the national top law schools, and we are honored that practitioners, judges and academicians recognize the strength of our various skills programs, such as trial advocacy and legal writing.”

Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy continues to strengthen the school’s commitment to advocacy training, hosting a national championship tournament for the American Mock Trial Association this April.

“Our advocacy program prepares Stetson students to serve the legal profession, both in and out of the courtroom,” said Advocacy Center Director and Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Professor Roberta Flowers.

Stetson offers full and part-time programs leading to the J.D., J.D./M.B.A. and LL.M. degrees and is the headquarters for the National Conference of Law Reviews. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.law.stetson.edu.

Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck presented Nichols Lecture at Stetson Law March 27

Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project and co-counsel on the O.J. Simpson defense team, presented the Nichols Foundation Prominent Speaker Lecture March 27 at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport.

At the lecture, Scheck talked about the importance of using DNA evidence to help evaluate peoples’ guilt or innocence in capital crimes. “This is life or death. We’re putting people away for the rest of their lives and in some instances executing them,” said Scheck.

A longtime advocate for DNA testing, Scheck co-founded the Innocence Project in 1992 with his colleague Peter Neufeld. This non-profit legal clinic has used DNA evidence to exonerate more than 150 wrongfully imprisoned people, some of whom were on death row or incarcerated for decades.

The Nichols Foundation Prominent Speakers Series was established at Stetson in 1995. The series namesake is Perry Nichols, among the nation’s most successful trial lawyers and past president of both the American Trial Lawyers Association and the International Trial Lawyers Association.

Stetson Law co-sponsors program on special needs trust administration in Clearwater in April

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Tampa Bay, Fla. – The Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson University College of Law and the Center for Special Needs Trusts will co-sponsor a continuing legal education program, “The Nuts and Bolts of Special Needs Trusts Administration,” April 27-28 at the Marriott Suites, 1201 Gulf Blvd., Clearwater Beach.

The program is targeted at financial planners, money managers and others involved in the administration of special needs trusts.

Topics include analyzing incoming special needs trusts; budgeting, counseling and investing; preserving principal versus quality of life; issues in administration; delivery of services and management; and case management.

The Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson was established to provide a framework for activity concerning legal issues and the elderly.

The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation focused on the administration of special needs trusts with the sole mission of providing comprehensive services to the entire community of people with disabilities.

For information about registering for this event, visit the Office of Conferences and Events at Stetson on the web at http://www.law.stetson.edu/conferences, e-mail [email protected] or phone 813-228-0226.

Editor’s Note: Journalists are encouraged to RSVP to the Office of Conferences and Events at Stetson.

Stetson Law student receives outstanding oralist award at moot court competition in New York

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law student Kerrie Taylor received an outstanding oralist award at the Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court competition March 19 in New York City.

Stetson’s Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court team of Courtney Fish, Bill Jacklin and Kerrie Taylor advanced to quarter-final rounds of competition. The team traveled 18 hours by van to New York City after flights to the region were cancelled because of snow storms.

“Forty-four teams made it to snowy New York City to compete, and advancing and winning the oralist award are great accomplishments,” said academic dean Theresa Radwan, who coached the team with Stetson Law alumnus Tiffany Dilorio.

Stetson Law professor chosen as president-elect of American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Contact Brandi Palmer
Communications Specialist
727-562-7381

Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law Professor Carol Henderson was elected president-elect of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences at their annual meeting in February.

Henderson’s new position was announced during the AAFS 59th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on Feb. 21. The annual scientific meeting brings together forensic specialists from around the globe to learn about the latest research in the field. The AAFS represents all 50 United States, Canada and 55 other countries worldwide.

“I look forward to this new opportunity to assist the AAFS in its mission to promote forensic science, education and research on a global level,” said Henderson, who directs the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla.

Under Henderson’s direction, Stetson’s National Clearinghouse, a program of the National Institute of Justice, was formed in 2003 to advance the use of science and technology in the law. The Clearinghouse provides a comprehensive online database of legal and scientific research and educates lawyers, judges and law enforcement personnel about new developments in forensic technology and forensic evidence handling in the courts.

For nearly 60 years, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences has served a distinguished and diverse membership. Its more than 6,000 members are divided into 10 sections spanning the forensic enterprise. As a professional society dedicated to the application of science to the law, the AAFS is committed to the promotion of education and the elevation of accuracy, precision and specificity in the forensic sciences.

For more information about the National Clearinghouse, please call (727) 562-7316 or visit them on the Web at http://www.ncstl.org.

More information about the AAFS may be found at http://www.aafs.org.